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Sunday, 29 January 2017

I don't think I've ever put so much effort into painting three 4ss minions. There are nine of those little tadpole-like creatures in total, in three different poses. I wanted to make sure there's one of each pose and with different color on each of the three 40mm bases. I used three different color schemes but kept the eyes the same for all of them to keep some coherence. I had two spare bayou base inserts and I couldn't think of anything more appropriate for them. Every single one of the little guys is pinned to the base. While it was a lot of work and it did take me a few evening to finish them off, I really enjoyed the whole process. Gupps are just such hilarious minis!

Their stat line is completely unimpressive but they can be very useful in game despite that. They're really good and cheap scheme runners. Silent and Perfect Camouflage means that hitting them won't be easy, and Companion can help with getting them where you needed before your opponent has a chance to react. They have two (0) actions. One of them is a Leap that required any (even as low as 1) Mask to go off. The other one is called Juvenile's Wail and adds +2 damage to all melee attacks of friendly Swampfiends is the Gupps are killed or sacrificed within 6' of them.

They can also try to do some damage with their low Ml of 5 and if they happen to kill a non-Peon model, they can turn into a much better Silurid.

Tuesday, 24 January 2017

I've already had the pleasure of reviewing some mats from Playmaty before (here and here) so I was more than happy when the company contacted me about having al look at some of their new products.

Let's begin with a new slough-themed mat. What strikes you first when you look at this one are nice, vibrant and warm colors. The print has a realistic feel to it and what's more, whatever terrain you put onto it seems to work well (as you can see in the pictures below).

All the deployment zones are there of course. I think a perfect balance between visibility and not breaking the coherent look has been struck here. It's really easy to notice them at first glance but the don't stand in contrast to the print.

And last but not least - the new material. The print is made on 2mm thick rubber. It means that it is significantly heavier than the standard one. What is more important is that it unfolds much better. It stays perfectly flat and even the edges look great. This is really important as it's a big improvement in production. As you can see in one of the pictures below, the desert - themed mat has this issue and it requires special arrangement of terrain to keep the edges flat. With rubber mat you can forget about such problems.

The second mat is another new product. It's made from eco leather. It means that the material is more durable and slightly thicker than a standard mat. It's is thinner than the rubber one and lighter. However, it also lays perfectly flat when unfolded.

The print shows a very nicely detailed paved plaza. The design is clever as the way cobblestones are arranged reflects deployment zones, making it much easier to start a game and count Victory Points during the game.

Hazardous and severe are terrain types that can have huge influence on a game of Malifaux. I strongly believe that they should be included in a table set up as they ad a lot of tactical option and force both players to think more creatively. Unfortunately, they are often not present on many Malifaux tables.

2D terrain can be an excellent solution here. I had a chance to test some of these and will describe my impressions. First of all, there are river modules. They fit together perfectly, and look really good when arranged on a mat (as you can see in the picture below).

There are also other types of 2D terrain that experts from Playmaty have designed. I tested Toxic Pond in one game and was really happy with it. It's relatively small and doesn't take up too much space on the board. It also means that adding it to the terrain won't be difficult, but it will definitely make your games more exciting.

Stony meadow is another option available. I personally feel that in a game of Malifaux, where height of terrain plays such an important part, it doesn't bring that many interesting options. In games I played it was used just as severe terrain. However, I can easily imagine these being used as viable options in games like WARMACHINE.

There are other interesting types of 2D terrain available. There's a frozen river module, fog, burning forest. Each of these will bring more options to your gaming tables.

Overall, I am really happy with the direction the company has taken. New mats are improved in terms of quality of print and material and 2D terrain can be a great addition if you want to make your games more interesting and challenging. I am looking forward to seeing more from Playmats in the future!

Thursday, 19 January 2017

Wednesday, 11 January 2017

When Wyrd showed artworks for the Will-o-the-Wisps in one of the Monday previews I was sold. These grotesque creatures with bloated bodies and insect-like wings immediately became my favorites.

The models are really well designed and look great even just after the assembly. Basing them was generally easy, but I had to use a transparent flight stand for one of them as I couldn't think of any other way to keep him on the base. I used bright blue tones for the main part of their bodies and contrasted it with white skulls and red used on their tongues and sparingly around the skulls. I kept the swamp theme on the base and used Vallejo Still Water effect mixed with some washes.

Will-o-the-Wisps are one of the cheapest models in game. It seems like they were made especially for Zoraida. They can use 1 AP to copy any (2) action from another friendly model. This means that they can summon in Voodoo Doll and Zoraida can use two action points for buffing her crew. This option makes Zoraida more viable and I am definitely going to try at least two Will-o-the-Wisps in my next game with this master.

"Broken Promise" is another novel I've read thanks to a recommendation from Stephen King on his FB account. His picks are usually good and I wan't disappointed with this one too.

The action takes place in a small, seemingly peaceful town. A reporter moves back to the place where he grew up in search of some peace of mind after the loss of his wife. He also wants to devote more time to his son. However, his new workplace closes just after one day and soon various events around the town lead him to face dark secrets in his family.

The novel is well constructed and offers multiple viewpoints. Each of the characters has knowledge of events different than another and the reader is left to puzzle out the complete story... only to be surprised by an unexpected turn of events in the final section of the book.

"Broken Promise" has a solid plot, fast pace, and an interesting selection of characters to drive the story forward.

Monday, 9 January 2017

I've finally got some games in and all were with Titania and 2017 Gaining Grounds. I haven't played Malifaux since October so I felt a bit rusty and slightly overwhelmed with all the new options and ended up losing three of them (though two were quite close).
Titania is definitely what I'd call a strong master. She can take a lot of punishment, is very efficient when it comes to healing, and can achieve some of the schemes really easily thanks to the way she just throws Scheme Markers all over the place (Set Up, Search The Ruins, Claim Jump are good choices for her).
I played her with two Autumn Knights in each game (mainly the Claw and the Tooth, I just don't like the Thorn's damage spread). Their "lures" are decent, they do consistent damage, help with Scheme Marker production, and don't die easily. I'd say they're totally worth the 7 ss.
Other than these two, Widow Weaver made it into each of my crews (for the Wp reduction and a good chance to keep an enemy's model paralyzed every now and then). Mysterious Effigy was also a staple. Its buff makes Titania more survivable, it can take some damage in and run Schemes in corner cases. I'm not sold on Titania's thematic totem so I used Primordial Magic for the extra card draw. It also hovered near the action in case I needed one extra Scheme Marker. A kind of insurance policy I guess.

I also finally got to use Nekima and she is brutal, her damage output is just incredible. She is also very mobile with
Flight and an extra AP for Ml. I also experimented with Barbaros (who I've also used for the first time) and he did the job of staying put, absorbing damage and dealing some in return. Fears given Form coupled with Malifaux provides worked really well on him. I feel like Titania needs a beater as her damage output isn't that impressive (it gets much better when there are plenty of Scheme Markers lying around as then its profile can be 4/5/6, range 8' without randomizing). In my first three games I took The Queen's Champion on Titania but I'm not really sure about it. Yes, it does make one model much stronger but you have to carefully plan who and when to kill and this can be limiting. An Audience with the Queen can work better in some cases, especially when you want to get your Set Up target closer.There's one upgrade I'd always take - Taproot. It makes her and other Fae much more survivable thanks to a 3' push after resolving a duel (as long as they have a mask and discard a Scheme Marker).
Overall - I've enjoyed these four games, despite losing 3. What I liked the most was that even when I messed things up at the start, I was still able to get some VP, even when Lady J's crew killed most of mine and I had only Titania and Pukeworm on the table for two turns. I was still able to get some points in and lost the game only 6-7 despite bad start. I will have to experiment with different builds for this crew as well. Titania could be played in a similar way to Pandora and that is one other style I want to try one day.